Dents in My Fender
by thegirlwhodared
Summary: Dawn Karofsky's thoughts on life at age 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24. Filled for a one word prompt on tumblr. "Anonymous asked: Girl!Dave Karofsky, and the word is "FREE" "


_A/N: The song that the title and end quote is from is " Free to Be Me" by Francessa Battistelli. I have always HC'd Dave/Dawn as being from a semi-religious family due to the line about Mama Karofsky thinking that being gay is a choice and an illness. So, because, I'm both Christian and queer, I applied that to them. Feel free to comment either here or on AO3 Here: /works/1512269 , or you can send me a message on tumblr at thelifeandtimesofdawnkay._

If you had asked Dawn at 16 what her life would be like at 24 she would have disregarded you and not told you.

At 18 she would have told you to buzz off or pulled up the whole fantasy she had in the hospital. She only did it because Kate was on the verge of tears. And before you even ask, yes having your stomach pumped is not fun. You end up with a sore throat for a week after.

At 20, she could say that life is a good thing. Sure, she was the cause of the divorce, but Dawn and her dad had never been closer. After he found her, close to death, he knew that she was still just a scared kid. So when she got out of the hospital, he vowed that he would help her learn to live and be happy.

So, when he was offered a job in Chicago two weeks after Dawn got out, he jumped at it.

Dawn took the art classes she had been looking at. It's a new start, no one knows her as Dawn the bullish tomboy jock. So she got the cute layered haircut she has always wanted, stopped wearing ponytails and was a lot truer to had left the church in Lima after her attempt, but once they found a LGBTQ affirming church in Chicago, they thought why not try attending. Slowly but surely, Dawn had gone back to her true self, who she was before her fear took over.

Paul was overjoyed. He had always been saddened that his sweet little girl lost herself along the way. But this new Dawn? She was a lot closer to the little girl he knew.

Dawn didn't lie to Kate when she said she wanted to be a sports agent. But that was when she pressured in a hospital bed , at 17, after she tried to OD on pain killers. But now, after taking art classes and seeing a therapist, it hit her, she could do this for a living. Making (and teaching) art.

So, when she applied to Northwestern and made it in, she went for it. Dawn entered as a Art Ed major. And it seemed good.

At 22, Dawn was pretty surprised that she ended up in a sorority. But she ended up making friends with the president and when she found out that they had non-discrimination policy in place, she thought why not. Alpha Chi Omega was a good fit for her. So she rushed as a sophomore. When she met her big, Christina Kiehl, and they found out where they were both from, it was a bit of a shock. It's weird that they had never met before. How many teenaged lesbians lived in Lima, Ohio? Of course she graduated before Dawn did, and she went to North Lima.

The thing that shocked her the most is when Christina said she was willing to go to church with Dawn. Of course it makes perfect sense now, how could someone so loving disagree with the theory of loving your neighbor as yourself, or that of hope, faith and love, that love was the greatest. After a few weeks, Love just had it's way with them.

At age 24, looking back at her life so far, Dawn was not surprised that she ended up doing what she did. Sure the road was a bit rocky. But it lead her to finding a passion, getting a kick-ass job as a high school art teacher and part time art therapist, and settling down with her girlfriend Christina. She got to help with the LGBTQ youth group at her church. It was amazing that she got to help teens that are having the same struggles that she had. As she walked past the screen-print on the wall that had Colossians 3;14- "Most of all, Let Love guide your life" , she thought this, in the end it's like that song …

'Cause I got a couple dents in my fender

Got a couple rips in my jeans

Try to fit the pieces together

But perfection is my enemy

On my own I'm so clumsy

But now I can see

I'm free to be me


End file.
